The voice output apparatus that transmits information to the user via voice message has been conventionally provided, and is employed as a terminal in a car navigation system or as an interface for a TV or a personal computer.
Some of the voice output apparatuses not only output a voice message but also display the information via text message in order to surely transmit the information to the user (see reference to the following Japanese Laid-Open Applications: No. 11-145955, No. 11-339058, No. 2001-142484 and No. 5-216618). Even in the case where the user misses a voice message, the user can get the information transmitted from the voice output apparatus, by reading the displayed text message without being bothered to operate the voice output apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the conventional voice output apparatus for transmitting information via voice message and text message.
The voice output apparatus 900 obtains necessary information from the user in interactive mode so as to sell railway tickets to the user. Such voice output apparatus 900 is comprised of a microphone 901, a voice processing unit 902, a transmitting information generating unit 903, a voice output unit 904 and a display unit 905.
The microphone 901 obtains a verbal input from the user.
The voice processing unit 902 specifies user-transmitting information that the user tries to transmit to the voice output apparatus 900 based on the verbal input obtained by the microphone 901, and outputs the user-transmitting information to the transmitting information generating unit 903. For example, when the user utters “o-o-sa-ka” toward the microphone 901, the voice processing unit 902 specifies a name of the station “Osaka Station” as the user-transmitting information.
The transmitting information generating unit 903 generates apparatus-transmitting information to be transmitted to the user, based on the user-transmitting information specified by the voice processing unit 902, and outputs the apparatus-transmitting information to the voice output unit 904 as well as the display unit 905. For example, in the case where the user-transmitting information indicates a departure station “Osaka Station”, the transmitting information generating unit 903 generates apparatus-transmitting information for inquiring an arrival station, and outputs the generated apparatus-transmitting information.
Having obtained the apparatus-transmitting information from the transmitting information generating unit 903, the voice output unit 904 outputs the apparatus-transmitting information via voice message. For example, the voice output unit 904, having obtained the apparatus-transmitting information for inquiring an arrival station, outputs a voice message that goes “To where?”.
The display unit 905, having obtained the apparatus-transmitting information from the transmitting information generating unit 903, displays the apparatus-transmitting information via text message. For example, having obtained the apparatus-transmitting information inquiring an arrival station, the display unit 905 displays a text message that says “To where?”.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the screen displayed by the display unit 905 in the voice output apparatus 900.
The display unit 905 displays a condition section 905a, a specification section 905b and a question section 905c. The condition section 905a displays the information for inquiring the user of a departure station, an arrival station, and others, and the specification section 905b displays the name of stations which is transmitted by the user, or the like, while the question section 905c displays the apparatus-transmitting information presented via text message, as explained above.
The user purchases a ticket by operating such a voice output apparatus 900 in interactive mode.
Here, the conventional voice output apparatus 900 outputs a voice message as well as displays a text message (see reference to Laid-Open Japanese Application No. 5-216618). For example, the voice output unit 904 outputs a voice message that goes “To where?” while the display unit 905 displays a text message “To where?”.
The conventional voice output apparatus 900, however, outputs a voice message as well as displays a text message at the same time. The user's attention concentrates on the voice message rather than the text message, and therefore, the display of the text message means nothing to the user. It is problematic that robustness of the interface between the user and the apparatus cannot be improved.
This is because it requires a lot of time for a human being to understand the text message that is displayed. It is a known fact that it requires 70 to 700 ms for a human being to start moving one's eyeballs after the display of the text message (see reference to “Human Interface” written by Hiroshi Tamura, Ohm-shya, 1998). The average time is 200 ms. More time is further required to move a focal point to the position of the text message and then focus on it.
The present invention is conceived in view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide the voice output apparatus that improves the robustness of the interface between the user and the apparatus by surely transmitting, to the user, the information via text message and voice message.